Several medications are frequently administered by injection into or under the skin with a syringe and needle system. Preferably, such injections require cleansing of the skin with alcohol or another antiseptic to prevent infection. The needle is then exposed and often visible to the patient. Next, the medical caregiver inserts the needle into the patient to a certain depth to inject the medication. The injection is then administered and the needle is withdrawn from the patient, leaving an exposed needle. Subsequently a bandage may be placed on the injection site.
Significant populations of individuals requiring such injections are frightened and/or react badly to the sight of needles. “Needle-less” pneumatic injectors were developed to obviate the need for needles. These systems are expensive and require regular maintenance. They have generally found application only in large-scale vaccination programs. If a patient moves during the administration of a pneumatic injection, failure of the injection and possible injury can result. Skin preparation prior to the injection and bandage application are still required as separate steps.
Standard needle/syringe injections are technique dependant. Both the rate of needle insertion as well as the rate of injection of the medication greatly affect the pain associated with the injection. Often, the needle is not inserted to the same depth resulting in bleeding, swelling, pain and potential ineffectiveness of the medication.
A syringe-loaded injection system is available currently for use primarily with emergency medications such as epinephrine. This “Epi-Pen” requires skin cleansing, uncapping, and forceful thrusting into the skin to actuate the spring firing mechanism. This injection system is rather large and awkward and is not easily carried, although it must be readily available in case the need for use arises. Users also complain that the spring-loaded mechanism sometimes fires accidentally and can result in an inadvertent injection with resultant injury.
Children receive multiple injections for vaccination against diseases and may require physical restraint in order to accomplish the injections. In view of the above, there remains room for improvement to injection systems, particularly medicinal injection systems.